1. Field
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to an electrode for a dye sensitized solar cell, a method of manufacturing the same, and a dye sensitized solar cell including the electrode.
2. Description of Related Art
Solar cells, such as silicon-based solar cells and dye sensitized solar cells, are eco-friendly energy sources.
Since the costs for manufacturing silicon-based solar cells are expensive, it is difficult to commercialize silicon-based solar cells and/or improve their efficiency. On the other hand, the costs for manufacturing dye sensitized solar cells are far less expensive than those of the conventional silicon-based solar cells so that dye sensitized solar cells may replace silicon-based solar cells. Dye sensitized solar cells are photoelectriochemical solar cells including dye molecules that absorb visible light to generate electron-hole pairs and transition metal oxide that transfers the generated electrons as main components.
A dye sensitized solar cell includes a counter electrode including a catalyst and an electrolyte having redox pairs. The counter electrode consecutively supplies electrons to cells by reducing ions.
The catalyst may be platinum (Pt), carbon (C), or a conductive polymer, and among these elements, platinum has the highest efficiency. However, since platinum is also very expensive, research is being conducted into reducing the amount of platinum in order to reduce the manufacturing costs and also prevent the decrease in efficiency caused by the reduction of the amount of platinum.